Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Kagohl 3

From the day Belgium was invaded, the idea was that the German
Army would simply occupy sufficient territory from which air raids
with conventional machines could be made and, in anticipation, one
Major Wilhelm Siegert was placed in command of a new force called
Fliegerkorps der OHL, (OberstenHeersLeitung). Code named the
Brieftauben Abteilung or ‘Carrier Pigeon Squadron’, it was
supplied with thirty-six B-Type aeroplanes and divided into two
Wings. Posted to the airfield at Ghistelles, a small village near
Ostend in Belgium, it was, according to one of its officers, Major C
C Neumann, composed of ‘the best and most experienced pilots from
every branch of the Air Force’. To increase their mobility they
were quartered in railway sleeping carriages and carried out their
first raids on Dunkirk and other objectives behind the enemy Fourth
Army Front. The onus was now on the Army to capture the requisite
territory from which Siegert could operate.

The man charged with this task was General Erich Von Falkenhayn.
In what was to become known as ‘The Race to the Sea’, he
attempted to penetrate the Allied lines at Ypres on 14 October 1914,
using the Fourth and Sixth Armies, but nine days later they were
still being held at bay and, despite horrific casualties – the
Germans alone suffering 130,000 – the offensive had petered out by
11 November resulting in stalemate. With both sides digging in for
the winter, Siegert’s plans were looking forlorn. In the meantime
the nascent squadron was employed in operations behind the enemy
lines against Dunkirk, Furnes and La Panne, giving it plenty of
practice whilst it anticipated being able to fulfil its actual role.

The spring of 1915 saw a reorganization of the force. The
Fliegerkorps was divided into four units: the ‘Carrier Pigeon
Squadron’ was transferred to Galicia to carry out operations
against the Russians on the Eastern Front and a second squadron was
formed at Metz near Nancy. Two reconnaissance Squadrons, A66 and A69,
were also established. Neumann tells us:

Shortly after our Army broke through to Gotlitz, the Ostend
Carrier Pigeon Squadron returned to the Western Front, having been
equipped in the meantime with a newly designed 150 or 160hp C-Type
machine in which the pilot sat in front with the observer behind.
However, even with this type of aircraft it was not possible to
attack England.

Their return to the west was timely, as the airships had by late
1915 proven not to be the war-winners it had been hoped they might
be. Their eventual arrival also gave the airship mechanics a new use
for their skills, serving as ground crew for the bombers. On 1
January 1916, the ‘Ostend Carrier Pigeon Squadron’ was given a
somewhat more prestigious title in line with the greater kudos now
attached to its intended role. It was henceforth known as No.1 Battle
Squadron, or Kagohl 1, and divided into six flights. They were
employed once more in a support role against enemy rear areas, and
Neumann reports that these Fliegertruppes (Aviation Troops) were,
...employed with excellent results in every undertaking of any
importance and in various districts on the Western Front during 1916.

The prospect of capturing the necessary ground still eluded the
Germans. Consequently a number of German aircraft construction
companies had to be approached, and the practicality of constructing
aircraft capable of reaching Britain from the territory currently
held was discussed.

The firms consulted included Flugzeugbau Fredrichshafen Gmbh;
Allgemeine Elektrizitäts Gesellschaft (AEG); and Gothaer
Waggonfabrik AG (Gotha), and it was the latter which won the main
contract to construct the aircraft. It called its prototype the Gotha
‘Ursinus’ G-I, equipped with two 160hp Mercedes engines. It first
flew in 1915, and was followed by the G-II with its two 220hp
engines. A number were provided to the squadron after further
reorganization in September 1916. At this time one Hauptmann Gaede
was given command of Halbgeschwader (Half-Squadron) No.1, which
comprised Staffeln 1, 4 and 6. Halbgeschwader No.2 was allotted
Staffeln 2, 3 and 5 and was dispatched to Bulgaria, and then to the
Macedonian Front until May 1917 when it returned to duties in
Belgium.

The Gotha G-IV had been developed by this stage, and large-scale
production was to proceed at the Gotha, LVG and Siemens-Schuckert
factories. On 25 November 1916 the Kommandierender General Der
Luftstreitkrafte – Kogenluft – was established as a separate
entity from the Army under the command of General Ernst Hoeppner.
Upon assuming command he issued the first policy document which
outlined the functions expected the squadron in its operations
against the United Kingdom:

Since an airship raid against London has become impossible, the
Air Service is required to carry out a raid with aeroplanes as soon
as possible. The undertaking will be carried out in accordance with
two entirely different schemes:

Bombing squadrons equipped with G (Large) Aeroplanes...
...Scheme 1 will be carried out by Half-Squadron No.1 using Gotha
G-IV aeroplanes. The requisite number of thirty aeroplanes will be
ready by February 1 1917.
By despatching eighteen aeroplanes, each carrying a load of 300kg
of bombs, 5,400kg could be dropped on London, the same amount as
would be carried by three airships, and so far three airships have
never reached London simultaneously.

Scheme 1 can only succeed provided every detail is carefully
prepared, the crews are practised in long-distance overseas flight,
and the squadron is made up of specially good aeroplane crews. Any
negligence and undue haste will only entail heavy losses for us, and
defeat our ends.

The project was code named Turkenkreuz, - Turks’ Cross, and the
squadron would be called the Englandgeschwader, or ‘England
Squadron’. It had four airfields allocated to it; Mariakerke,
Melle-Gontrode, Ostacker and St Denis-Westrem, all sited around Gent
about, forty miles behind German lines.

It was now that the full implications of the aircraft’s change
in centre of gravity after losing its bombs and fuel, was fully
appreciated. None of the airfields were anything like flat and level
enough to accommodate a returning bomber and land it with much chance
of it not crashing. As a result, the respective airfields would have
to be made as flat as possible to reduce the possibility of this
happening and this meant shifting tons of earth around to smooth and
level them. Melle-Gontrode and St Denis-Westrem would not be ready
until April, Mariakerke and Ostacker until July, so Ghistelles was to
be used until then to house the aircraft, sharing facilities with
Half-Squadron No.1. The force was to consist of six staffeln,each of
six machines, and in theory a total of thirty-six bombers were to
attack London in the forthcoming operation.

One vital element which an undertaking of this scale and magnitude
needed was also in short supply by this stage in the war; first rate
leadership. However, luckily for the squadron, one man would enter,
stage left, to fill this void in the person of thirty-four year-old
Hauptmann Ernst Brandenburg.

He had found his way into the Air Force like many of his
colleagues, after being wounded in the trenches and subsequently
assigned to what were considered lighter duties as an observer in a
two-seater reconnaissance aircraft. He would prove to be the perfect
candidate for the demanding assignment, to mould a cohesive unit
practically from scratch, capable of launching the first-ever
daylight strategic bomber raid. Such were the qualities of this man,
that despite the punishing regime and unremitting requirements of the
endless training, he would be able to earn the respect and admiration
of officers and men alike, leading by example in his quiet,
unassuming way.

It would be a task completely different to that which his
colleagues in the airship service would have faced. There, the mighty
vessels operated largely alone, with all the component parts, namely
the crews, in one place; the bombs would be dropped from a single
platform; there were none of the completely new skills that
Brandenburg and his men would need to master. Almost forty different
machines, untested in the kind of warfare upon which they were about
to embark, would have to rise and fly in formation, keep together
over featureless seas, and then, above hostile territory, finally
unload their bombs in a tight pattern in order to gain the maximum
results. Keeping in formation they would then attempt the perilous
journey back to their airfields, expecting to be harassed all the way
by enemy fighters baying for their blood.

Organization, training and tactics – all completely new and
untried – General Staff maps of the North Sea and Dover Straits
were studied intensely, while the flight path over Ostend and then
Foulness, on towards the capital from the north-east (with Epping
Forest serving as their marker) had to be rehearsed again and again.
Just as important for the crews was to know the way back to base,
along the north side of the Thames to the Estuary.

One of his first decisions was to form Staffeln 16, and place it
under the command of Oberleutnant von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, by drafting
in personnel from the Luftstreitkrafte; Staffeln 17 and 18 would
follow in July. There were to be seven headquarters staff,
Brandenburg, Adjutant Gerlicht and five officers whose
responsibilities ranged from intelligence, reconnaissance
photography, motor transport and administration. Three bombers were
allocated to headquarters staff. So he could be identified easily by
his men in flight and his instructions conveyed, the fuselage of
Brandenburg’s machine was painted red.

In April 1917, Kagohl 3 was ready to move from Ghistelles to
Melle-Gontrode and St Denis-Westrem. Despite this, things were not
going well. As we have seen, examination of a wrecked German aircraft
by the Allies exposed the sub-standard nature of much of the
materials used in their manufacture and as a result the standard of
construction of the engines left a lot to be desired and extensive
modifications were required on the pipe work installed in earlier
models. This rework alone took up most of the month.

By the middle of May both the aircraft and crew were as ready as
they would ever be. Morale was boosted by visits from such
dignitaries as Hoeppner and later by General Hindenburg, both of whom
had bold words of encouragement for the crews, words which they were
all too keen to justify.

Labels

About Me

Mitch Williamson is a technical writer with an
interest in military and naval affairs. He has published articles in
Cross & Cockade International and Wartime magazines. He was
research associate for the Bio-history Cross in the Sky, a book about
Charles 'Moth' Eaton's career, in collaboration with the flier's son,
Dr Charles S. Eaton. He also assisted in picture research for John
Burton's Fortnight of Infamy.
Mitch is now publishing on the WWW various specialist websites combined
with custom website design work.